Robex Lundgren virkblogg.

Have any of you played in other bands?

I hope to not forget all the bands we played in.

I’m Cris (vocals) and I played in bands called “Idols For Dinner” (deathcore), “Gargantua” (extrem/progressive metal) and “Deep In Hate” (technical deathcore) as a live cession member. Charles (drums) plays in Gorgon (symphonic death metal) and Lutece (black metal). To me, he is one of the best metal drummers who live Paris. Laurent (bass guitar) played in “Order of 303” (progressive metal) and now he also plays with Dimitri (our guitar player) in a band called Circus In Town (metal hardcore). Our new guitar player Erwan plays in Walpugis (black metal).

How is it that you started playing music? To be honest, I don’t really remember. It was in 2011 or 2012. I was playing in my first band which was a very conventional deathcore band and I wanted to play in a band with a different sound. A thing that could sound more “old school” with a trash/death feeling. Then I met Dimitri and JP (our previous and former guitar player) who were looking for a vocalist. I enjoyed their music so we started playing together and recording. Did you make music even when you were young? I started playing music when I was 12 years old with my father’s guitar. I started singing - well, screaming - later. Maybe around 18.

Where are you from? From Paris and its suburb.

What year did the band form? 2011 I think.

What's your style of genre? Hard to say. It’s a kind of death metal which is as the same time melodic, catchy and violent. Some people say that we play some “maya metal”. Of course, our lyrics are related to the mayas but I don’t think we can say that we are playing “maya metal”. It sounds weird, don’t you think so ?

What inspires you? My wife and my cat.

How often and where do you reherse? In an other dimension we are rehearsing each weak. In this dimension we try to reherse every week but we all have complex schedules…

How have you developed since you started with the music? I love philosophy and cinema. Especially horror movies. If you want a see a very clever horror movie, you realy should see "Grave" from Julia Ducournau. When horror meets feminism and consideration on veganism.

Are you looking for a booking agency, and what are your thoughts around that? I which we had a booking agency. Planning some shows is probably the hardest thing in music universe, especially when you are a small band like us.

Are you looking for a label, and what are your thoughts around that? We are very satisfied with our label Dark Tunes music. They are behind us and push us to improve our music and our aesthetic. That’s a good thing.

What are your songs about? On the “Nine Levels” album we are talking about the last maya king’s travel in the infraworld. Infraworld is like the hell for mayas. In there, our king meets some demons and gods who want to torture him Who does the composing and writes the lyrics? Most of the time Dimitri and Jp are the composers. They come up with guitar parts and melodies then we arrange the songs all together during rehearsals. It's a long process but it's interesting. We don't consider a song as "finished" untill we are not all satisfied.

Do you start with the music or the lyrics? Always with the music. To me, lyrics are less important than music. Most of the time I don't understand what death metal vocalists say and it doesn't disturb the listening. What language do you sing in? Untill now, we've always been singing in english but I think we will use some french and spanish in a near future.

Do you always play the same songs live, or do you vary? We don't play enough to have the opportunity to vary. What was your latest gig? It was last month in Belgium. The venue is called "Le Cercle". We were playing with CEMICAN, a band from Mexico. It was a nice gig, the first since the release of our new album. Have you had to cancel a gig? Last week! It's always unpleasant to do that, especially when you know some people are waiting for you. Well: "stuff happens" and cancelling shows is unfortunately a part of the job...

Where have you played live this year? Netherland, Belgium, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Switzerland and France.

Where do you plan to gig the comming year? Wherever we can be greeted ! Where can people buy your merchandise? I think it's possible to do that on our facebook page. Some new shits and zippers are coming very soon.

What do you think about people downloading music instead of buying records now a days? Honestly I don't care. I don't play music to become a professional or to make money. Labels make music on musicians and most of the labels don't realy give help to the band they signed. You can download my music as much as you want.

Do you have any role models or idols? "Idols" is a word a little bit "strong". I don't like "idolatry". It's a little bit regressive. But I really like a few bands : DIABLO SWING ORCHESTRA, PSYCROPTIC, BETWEEN THE BURIED AND ME, THE FACELESS or SYBREED. I consider these bands are the best metal bands. Their music is very rich.

What have been your biggest obstacles? They are many obstacles. Find some gigs is one of the biggest obstacle. Also building up a strong line up.

What advice would you give other bands or artists? Don't waste your time trying to be famous. Play your music and see what happens. Do you have any new material? We release our new album "Nine Levels" in April. We have only had nice echos about it, so we are very happy. What are your plans for the future? We are planing some shows so if you want to see us playing in your city, send us an e-mail at [email protected].

Do you have something to add? Thank you very much for this interview.